As an archivist in a special collections environment at a university, I am used to working with certain luxories, such as a tempertaure and humidity-controlled environment.  This is not the case with the archives that we are establishing.  The space that has been generously provided is in an office space in a basement of a commercial building.  It is a dry basement (does not flood), but I imagine it is damp.  The temperature, however, does remain fairly constant year round.  Without expensive equipment, what is the best way for me determine the humidity as well as reduce it and maintain it at a level that will not present a mold risk to the materials.  We are lucky to have a place to house these materials as presently they are scattered across the city and access to them is difficult if not impossible.  This will also give us a chance to evaluate older magnetic media and brittle newsprint and reformat them before they are lost. 

Could you also recommend any cheap to free pamphlets or thin books on archival basics?  I would like to provide these to interested Comfest volunteers.

Finally, has anyone out there worked on a similar type project--an archive of a festival or started a archives with little funds from scratch?

Please contact me off list with information.

Thanks!   Mary